GSJ: Volume 8, Issue 8, August 2020 ISSN 2320-9186 1168 GSJ: Volume 8, Issue 8, August 2020, Online: ISSN 2320-9186 www.globalscientificjournal.com ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SMALL SCALE TAMBA (Eluesine coracana) PRODUCTION IN SOUTHERN KADUNA OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA. Chintem D.G.W2, Mangbon T.A1, Wuranti Valla3, Imarhiagbe Patience3 1Department of Statistics, Federal School of Statistics, Manchok, Kaduna State, Nigeria 2Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria 3Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria, Experimental Station Manchok, Kaduna State *Corresponding author email: [email protected] Abstract The traditional African cereal grains, Finger millet (Eluesine coracana), locally known as Tamba, has not received much research study within the last decade. The tamba cereal has the potentials to contribute significantly to whole grain diets, wellness, economic status improvement, and play important role in food security in Nigeria. Thus this work investigated the resource use efficiency in Tamba production among small scale farmers in Southern Kaduna of Kaduna State. Primary data were collected from 250 small scale Tamba producers with the aid of structured questionnaire drawn from five villages based on their production strength using the simple random sampling technique. The analytical tools employed were descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis technique, correlation analysis and production function analysis. The result of the correlation analysis revealed that educational status, farm size and farming experience had strong positive correlation with Tamba grain output while the result of the Cobb Douglas production function revealed that the coefficients of the production inputs 1, 2 5, were positively significant at 1% level. These also explained that any additional unit of these − − − variable imputes will lead to an additional unit of output of Tamba by 69%. The findings of the study showed that the total cost of production observed was N39, 433.08 per hectare with labor accounting for the highest cost item. The gross margin obtained was N40,319.40 per hectare. The showed that Tamba production in the study area is profitable. The study recommended expansion in farm size of Tamba (finger millet) production, in addition to reduction of cost of seeds, labor and chemical fertilizers. Key words: Cereal, Wholegrain, Tamba, Finger millet, Gross Margin, Southern Kaduna. 1. INTRODUCTION At independence in 1960, agriculture stood out as the most important sector of Nigeria’s economy. It employed over eighty percent (80%) of the nation’s workforce, served as the most GSJ© 2020 www.globalscientificjournal.com GSJ: Volume 8, Issue 8, August 2020 ISSN 2320-9186 1169 important foreign exchange earner and constituted a major source of Government revenue (CBN, 2000). Given the vastness of the country, its diverse climatic and soil conditions, a wide variety of crops are grown for industrial use, exports as well as domestic consumption. The nation’s agricultural production is still largely in the hands of the small scale farmers who are said to account for ninety five percent [95%] of the total agricultural production (Adesimi A.A.1997). Presently, there are relatively large quantity of undeveloped and underutilized resources, which if tapped and used effectively would lead to large increases in production and thus enable Nigeria to feed herself and also have excess to solve the world’s food problem. One serious problem facing Nigeria today is chronic and transitory food insecurity (World Bank, 1998). The contribution of agriculture to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which was 65% on the average in the 60’s dropped to 22.4% between 1976 and 1980. Even though it rose to 29.2% in the year 2001, it dropped further to 22% in 2015 (CBN, 2014). Although Gana (1990) described Nigeria as a food insecure country, the food problem which started in the mid 1960’s, has continued to deepen several decades after independence (Adesina, 1997). At the national level, the main food problems are food supply deficits, poverty and uneven distribution of income in terms of ability to buy food. On the economic front inadequate food has resulted in reduced export earnings, large food imports, small revenue for Government, shortage of raw materials for processing industries and increased inflationary pressure (Ojo, 1995). Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) commonly known as Tamba in Hausa, raji (India) and Tsel (Mambilla), is a grass crop grown in Africa, India Nepal, and many countries of Asia. The plant and grain is resistant to drought, pests, and pathogens. Chandrashekar (2010) reported that finger millet is rich in polyphenols and calcium. It is high in essential amino acid: methionine. One major use for the grain is the making of fermented beverages after malting with α-amylase and α- amylase produced during germination. Food made from malted Tamba is traditionally used for weaning (Srimathi, 2010) and has been the source of low viscosity weaning foods that can deliver more energy per feed than those based on gelatinized starch. There is some evidence that foods from finger millet have a low glycaemic index and are good for diabetic patients (Srimathi, 2010; Chandrashekar, 2010). Traditionally, tamba cereal grain has been processed into various value-added products in India (Mbithi-Mwikya et al., 2002) including staple flat bread, steamed finger millet dumplings, Laddoo-sweet ball and in much of Africa, finger millet is commonly eaten as porridge, and also used for brewing millet beer. Notwithstanding the vast potential of these traditional cereal grains, they are still being sidetracked in technological innovation by development and funding agencies. The input, investment in infrastructure, technology and agricultural research made to the “new rice for Africa drought-resistant rice variety” project that helped to boost production in Africa is equally needed for AIT cereal grains that are more nutritious. This is necessary as these grains grow under different agro-climatic conditions unfavourable to conventional cereal crops. To increase the value of fonio, European Union financed an international research project (INCO) under the 6th European Union Programme (FP6), in the priority area of “Bio-diverse, bio-safe and value GSJ© 2020 www.globalscientificjournal.com GSJ: Volume 8, Issue 8, August 2020 ISSN 2320-9186 1170 added crops” dealing with food security. This initiative is commendable with more of such expected in the near future on “minor” grains. As stated by IFT (Floros et al., 2010), scientific and technological advancements in agriculture and food technology must be accelerated and applied in developed and developing nations alike, if we are to feed a growing global population of which Nigeria in one.. The poor output realized by farmers may be an indication that resources needed in the production of the crop are not being used at their optimal levels or are inaccessible by farmers. The relatively little emphasis laid by farmers on the crop raises the question as to whether it is profitable to grow the crop or not. This situation calls for an assessment of the resources needed for its production and how these resources are managed by its cultivators. This vital information which is lacking at the moment has created a gap which the main objective of this research is aimed at filling. The objective of this study therefore is to estimate the production level of tamba and to determine the profit that can be generated from Tamba production in the study area. Economic theory of the firm begins with theory of production. What is a firm? The essence of a firm is to buy inputs, convert them to outputs, and sell these outputs to consumers, firms or government. Therefore a firm is poised between two markets. It is a demander in factor markets. It buys the inputs required for production in factor markets (markets that supply inputs for firms). It is a supplier in market for goods and services. It has to adjust its production to satisfy the demand curve of its customers at profit. It is assumed that the firm or the owner of the firm always strives to produce efficiently, or at lowest cost. He will always attempt to produce the maximum level of output for a given dose of inputs avoiding waste whenever possible. The production function is the relationship between the maximum amount of output that can be produced and the inputs required to make that output. Put in other way, the function gives for each set of inputs, the maximum amount of output of a product that can be produced. It is defined for a given state of technical knowledge (If technical knowledge changes, the amount of output will change). 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1. Study Area and Data Collection The study was carried out in Kaura Local government area of Kaduna State located at the North- West region of the country. The study area is located in the Hausa plain of the Northern Nigeria. The climate is savannah type and about 1000km away from the sea. The touch lies on latitude 11010’N and longitude 7045’E. It has two distinct season the dry season (November to march) and Wet season (April-October). Rainfall amount varies to years to year with an average of 1100mm. The long dry season necessitated the cultivation of much food and cash crops during raining season through the mixed cropping system. During the dry season, farmers are engaged in drying season farming and other secondary occupation such as fishing, hunting and rearing of cattle to make up for any deficiency in agricultural production. Relief of the Manchok area is a disserted portion of the Manchok-Jos plain developed on crystal metamorphic rocks of the Nigerian basement complex. The occupation of the people in the local government, is GSJ© 2020 www.globalscientificjournal.com GSJ: Volume 8, Issue 8, August 2020 ISSN 2320-9186 1171 predominantly farming, but some still engage in trading and vocational work (Survey 2015).